Modeling Techniques and the Dependency of Memelements on the Three Existing Fundamental Circuit Elements

Memelements is the short form of memory circuit elements and it includes memory resistor (memristor), memory capacitor (memcapacitor) and memory inductor (meminductor). These are circuit elements with huge potential in many facets of electronics, such as nonvolatile memory applications, neuromorphic and bioinspired systems, chaotic circuits, and so on. Memristor was proclaimed to be a fundamental passive circuit element complementing resistor, capacitor, and inductor. However, this assertion faces strong oppositions, among which is the discovery of memcapacitor and meminductor leading to the general concept of the memelements. Starting from the basic principle, this paper presents a review on the modeling techniques of memelements and then we explore their dependency on the fundamental circuit elements. From the modeling perspective and the circuit point of view, we demonstrate that memelements are not fundamental circuit elements; however, they are an extension of the three existing fundamental circuit elements, thus reflecting their memory effects as manifested by the pinched hysteresis loops in the governing plane of their constitutive variables.